Nala/Main article
Nala is Simba's best friend and later his mate. Physical Attributes Nala is a cream colored lioness with gray-blue eyes and has light coloured eyeshades, both as a cub and an adult. Personality As a cub, Nala is playful and frequently teases Simba. She also more often than not defeats him in wrestling matches indicating she's a more skilled fighter than he is. Nala matures as she grows up and at first she doesn't recognize Simba when they are reunited but when he tells her that it really is him she was overjoyed. Nala and Simba fall in love shortly afterwards but have a fight when Simba says he doesn't wish to return to the Pride Lands to challenge Scar. Nala claimed that it was Simba's responsibility to return to the Pride Lands. Eventually Simba decides to return and Nala supports him when he fights in the battle against Scar and his hyenas. In the second movie, Nala has become a loving mother but she is less protective than Simba and sometimes reminds him that their daughter, Kiara, acted just as Simba had when he was a cub. Nala is also the only known animal in the Pride Lands apart from Kiara and Rafiki who doesn't believe that Kovu had betrayed Simba and is seen standing beside her daughter with a concerned look when Kovu is exiled. Once again she proves herself to be a capable fighter during the final battle against Zira and her outsiders. Nala also knows Vitani as shown before Vitani attacks her. Information Nala is the daughter of Sarafina. She is the mate of Simba and the mother of Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, however in Six New Adventures, she is also mother to Kopa. While the first Lion King movie was in production, a cub named Mheetu was supposed to appear in the film as her younger brother, but his character was dropped during production. The Lion King Cub Nala Nala is first seen asleep when Simba tries to wake up his father, Mufasa. The next day Nala is being bathed by her mother, Sarafina, after Simba's first shown dialogue with Taka/Scar. Simba appears and asks Sarabi to let them go to the waterhole, when Simba was really going to the elephant graveyard. The cubs are allowed to go, but Zazu had to watch over them. Along the way, they plot to distract Zazu by singing a song called I Just Can't Wait to be King. They succeed. The cubs play wrestling, together, resulting in Nala pinning Simba. After they wrestle a second time, they roll down the hill and they discover that they arrived at the elephant graveyard. They are soon chased by Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, three hyenas sent by Scar. Suddenly, Mufasa comes to the rescue and saves Simba and Nala from the three hyenas. Adult Nala Later on in the movie, Simba and Nala are both adults. They are reunited when Nala's just about to eat Pumbaa and Timon. She and Simba are overjoyed to see each other as they discover their friendship has turned into a relationship. Soon, Nala tells Simba about how Scar has ruled the Pridelands wastefully, but he refuses to return to go back, which leads to a quarrel between he and Nala, as she believes he is the true king and their only hope to restore the Pride Lands from Scar's tyranny. ]] Later, Simba has a change of heart as he, Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa return to the Pridelands to fight Scar and his hyenas. Nala, the other lionesses, Timon, and Pumbaa wipe out the hyenas while Simba battles Scar one-to-one for the throne, and avenge the death of his father, Mufasa. Simba succeeds when he throws his uncle from the cliff to the pack of angry hyenas. With Simba and Nala as the new king and queen, the Pridelands become restored and the animals return. The king and queen look on proudly as Rafiki presents their newborn cub to the Pridelands. It is unknown whether this cub is Kopa or Kiara, because in the second movie Kiara appears, but the cub presented at the ceremony looks much more like Kopa in skin hue. Also, in the second movie, another cub is shown which looks different than the cub originally shown. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Nala has a slightly smaller role in the sequel to ''The Lion King. In Simba's Pride, she has visibly aged and her frame is heavier, but larger. Her personality is different since becoming queen. Nala has been calm, mild-mannered, and motherly in the sequel. Simba and Nala now have a rebellious daughter named Kiara. Nala's parenting approach contrasts with Simba's need to know that his daughter is safe. Nala first appears in the film as Rafiki presents Kiara to the animals. She looks on proudly as the animals admire her. She appears in most of the first scene when she tells Kiara to mind her father. She then has a discussion with Simba after Kiara runs off to play by herself. However, Nala's advice is ignored when he sends Timon and Pumbaa to look after Kiara. She then appears when she, Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, and some of the pridelanders arrive to rescue Kiara from Zira after seeing her with Kovu in the Outlands. Soon after, Kiara has grown into a young adult. Nala talks to Kiara before her first hunt and nuzzles her after that. She next appears when Kiara is rescued by Kovu and reminds Simba that he owes Kovu 'Kiara's life' due to royal protocol. She is present that night when Simba has a nightmare about trying to rescue his father during the stampede. However, She is fast asleep and remains silent after the nightmare. As Kiara and Kovu spend time together in the grasslands, that night, Nala finds Simba on a hill, desperately trying to seek advice from the great kings of the past. She consults him, seeing the good in Kovu that Simba can not see past due to Kovu's choosing to be Scar's heir. Nala is present in the final battle when she confronts Vitani. Vitani taunts her about Kiara's disappearance. Later Nala gives directions as Simba leaps into the gorge to rescue Kiara, who is stranded above the swollen river. Once the Pride Lands go back to normal, she journeys back to Pride Rock and stands atop the promontory with Simba, Kiara, and Kovu, roaring alongside them. Nala is the most powerful lioness in the Pride Lands. She was able to fight Vitani, even though Vitani was younger and trained to kill. Before Simba's confrontation with Zira, Nala was able to outmatch Vitani. The Lion King 1½ Nala plays a minor role in The Lion King 1½. She is seen in scenes like during the Can You Feel the Love Tonight sequence and in an extension of the scene where she explains to Timon and Pumbaa about Simba's whereabouts. Although a minor role, Nala was still voiced by Moira Kelly in this film. Kingdom Hearts II Nala is seen in the video game Kingdom Hearts II. The young Nala was never seen in the video game, and only Nala as an adult had a role in the game. She is only seen in the Pride Lands with Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Vanessa Marshall replaced Moira Kelly as Nala's voice in the game. ''The Lion King'' musical In the musical based on the same film, Nala's role is considerably expanded, with the events leading up to Nala leaving the Pride Lands under Scar's tyranny depicted in detail. Nala first appears in the musical as she is hunting with the other lionesses, replacing the scene from the film in where she was bathed by her mother, Sarafina. Later during the song, I Just Can't Wait to be King, she sings quite a few extra lines that do not appear in the film version of The Lion King. In the scene, The Madness of King Scar, the lonely, mentally ill Scar decides to take Nala as his mate, despite the fact that she is angrily opposed to the idea. This leads to the song scene, Shadowland, where Nala's character sings the lead about her need to leave the Pride Lands and find help. The other lionesses sing as the supporting choir and Rafiki the Baboon sings a blessing over Nala. At the end of the song, Nala bids her pride a sad farewell and leaves. Tony-Award winning actress Heather Headley portrayed her in the original Broadway cast. In the London West End production The Lion King, she was originally portrayed by Paulette Ivor. The song Shadowland was based on the song Lea Halalela (Holy Land) from the Rhythm of the Pride Lands CD. Songs *I Just Can't Wait to be King *Can You Feel the Love Tonight All Voice Actors *'The Lion King - (1994) - (film)' - Niketa Calame - (cub), Moira Kelly - (adult), Laura Williams - (cub singing voice), Sally Dworsky - (adult singing voice) *'The Lion King (musical) - (1997) - (musical)' - Kajuana Shuford (cub) (original actress), Heather Headley (adult) (original actress), Shannon Tavarez† (cub) *'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film)' – Moira Kelly *'The Lion King 1½ - (2004) - (film)' – Moira Kelly *'Kingdom Hearts II - (2005) - (video game)' – Vanessa Marshall Trivia *Nala's eyes constantly change from blue to green and vice versa, usually dependant on the lighting of the scene. Category:Characters Category:Lions Category:Pridelanders Category:Female Characters Category:Protagonist